Monthly Archives: December 2015

One of the strengths of AU Special Collections is the history of journalism. In 2014, we acquired the papers of Gregg Jones. Jones earned his BA in Journalism at Northeast Louisiana University. He began his reporting career in 1981 at the Roanoke Times and World-News. In 1984, Jones moved to the Philippines and began freelancing for major British and United States newspapers, covering the 1986 presidential election, the People Power Revolution, and Corazon Aquino’s presidency. In 1988 and 1989, he interviewed New People’s Army guerillas for his book, Red Revolution. In the 1990s, Jones reported for the Washington Post in Mexico, the Arkansas Gazette and the Dallas Morning News. He moved to Bangkok in 1997 to head the Dallas Morning News’ Asia Bureau. Jones returned to the United States to work for the Los Angeles Times in 2002. He rejoined the Dallas Morning News as an investigative reporter and projects writer in 2004 and left in 2010 to become a full-time author. Jones has been a finalist for the Pulitzer Prize and selected as a Fellow of the Black Mountain Institute at the University of Nevada.

The Gregg Jones Papers consists of articles, book proposals, correspondence, interviews, manuscripts, notes, and radio broadcasts documenting his work as a journalist and author in the Philippines, the Asia-Pacific region, and the United States. Featured topics in the collection include: the California recall campaign, the New People’s Army of the Communist Party of Philippines, the Philippine-American War, Philippine politics, rural health conditions in Arkansas, and the abuse of steroids. For more information about the collection please consult the finding aid.

Starting in the mid-1930s, female students living on campus participated in an annual candlelight ceremony featuring yule logs and a Christmas tree. The event began with a parade of students holding candles walking down the steps in Mary Graydon Hall. Starting in 1959, the women marched into the Clendenen gymnasium singing Christmas carols while holding candles.

Each December, the Women’s House Council held a secret ballot for “Best Loved Girl” and “Most Representative Girl” from each class. The winners were announced at the candlelight ceremony. Controversy over mandatory attendance and other issues led to moving the awards ceremony to the spring. The last “Best Loved Girl” was elected in 1966.